There is a growing need for quickly and easily inlaying decorative materials within artistic designs in concrete during the construction process. Too often when these designs are attempted they are rough, the edges where the materials meet are uneven, the decorative materials tend to release and come out during climate changes and the complete designs do not have a professional finished appearance that the artist has desired. The artists that create the designs are not normally capable of getting out on the wet concrete to actually create the finished product and will rely upon the concrete finishers to duplicate the artistic rendering they had created. This generally ends up being not quite what the artist had in mind. Additionally the drying time of concrete is relatively short which often limits the time to inlay the decorative elements while completing the surface finishing processes.
Numerous innovations for providing decorative patterns on a variety of surfaces have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process and the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,493,732 of Robin Brailsford et al. describes a mosaic concrete product, methods of creating the same, and methods of fabricating a module for use in creating the mosaic are provided. The methods of installing the mosaic upon an uncured concrete surface utilize the module. The module may be fabricated by mapping out tile in a design corresponding to the mosaic adhering the tile to a template utilizing an adhesive, the tile being positioned thereon corresponding to the design; and allowing the adhesive to set. The module may define upper and lower surfaces; the upper surface including the tile adhered thereto. The methods of installing the mosaic comprises: positioning the module upon the uncured concrete surface; embedding the tile into the concrete surface; massaging the tile into the concrete surface to interpose a quantity of cement/fines paste between the adjacent tiles; and finishing the concrete surface.
This patent describes a process of adhering mosaic tiles to a template of paper or a mesh utilizing an adhesive. The paper is to be placed on top of the wet concrete and the mesh to be imbedded into the concrete. This provides a limited time to work on the project. When using the paper the concrete has to set enough to hold the mosaic tiles and the adhesive has to release from the tiles in time to finish the concrete around the design. Depending upon the ambient temperature this can create a very limited working time. When the tiles on the mesh are imbedded in the wet concrete slab there will not be any concrete around the design that will enhance the design with color or texture. This process does not depict the unique features of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process where design patterns are inlayed in concrete slabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,740 of Philip N. Assanti a variable mosaic pattern formed from interfitting blocks formed into standard shape is disclosed groups with curved or serpentine shapes. Interchangeability of the groups of the standard shapes permits easy installation, and production machinery presently available permits low cost manufacturing of the interchangeable components, which can be made of a suitable plastic molded from suitably shaped molds or stamped out on presses, cut from slabs of stone, or formed by other suitable means. The interchangeable components can be assembled indefinitely in any direction in an ever-changing mosaic pattern creating a random decorative effect.
This patent describes a variable mosaic pattern formed from interfitting blocks formed into standard shape and does not depict the unique features of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process where design patterns are inlayed in concrete slabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,458 of Lars E. Henriksen describes an invention that generally relates to a process of and apparatus for manufacturing tile mosaics from at least two stone slabs, such as marble or granite slabs. The process comprises the steps of: a) cutting each of the two slabs into a matrix of pieces while maintaining the original orientation of the pieces, b) classifying the pieces of each matrix into two or more sets of pieces, c) intermixing a first set of pieces of one slab with a second set of pieces of another slab while maintaining the original orientation of the pieces, thereby forming the mosaic. The cutting apparatus comprises: a) a platen having a resilient layer for supporting the slab, b) a gantry table saw having a plurality of blades and a rotatable table for supporting the platen, and c) a hold-down rack for securing the slab and platen during cutting. At least two grippers are used to intermix at least one set of pieces from one slab with at least one set of pieces from a second slab to form the mosaic. By mixing the color shades and grain patterns of several different stone slabs, a mosaic having a handset look is achieved. Adjacent rows of the newly formed mosaic matrix may be offset to further enhance the handcrafted appearance of the mosaic.
This patent describes an invention that generally relates to an apparatus for manufacturing tile mosaics from at least two stone slabs, such as marble or granite slabs and does not depict the unique features of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process where design patterns are inlayed in concrete slabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,623 of Jacques Lucas tells of a device making it possible to install tiles or any other decorative design in the form of a panel, particularly on walls or floors, wherein these decorative designs are laid down and adhere by adhesive pre-bonding on a mesh consisting of a trellis of filaments, the said panels are formed of two parts, an external polygon consisting of mosaics arranged in rigorously defined positions which determine the manner in which the panels fit together, and a random arrangement inside the said polygon or frame with a density of mosaics or stones such that they do not touch and do not form any alignment, the juxtaposition of the said panels formed in this way provides a final appearance devoid of connection joint lines.
This patent tells of a device making it possible to install tiles or any other decorative design in the form of a panel. This patent is very similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 7,493,732 of Robin Brailsford et al, but does not provide the extended working time or the benefit of accenting colors or textures around the central design area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,146 of Lee Shaw et al, tells of a surface seeded exposed particulate concrete called Glass Chip Lithocrete being method of use includes use of small particulates, the particulates not necessarily chemically inert in the concrete mixture. The particulates are broadcast over the tipper surface of the concrete, and mixed into the cement paste derived from the concrete matrix by floats and finished by hand sponging. A surface retarder and vapor barrier are applied, and washing and curing operations follow. The present invention adds a chemical treatment of hydrolyzed alkali silica solution, preferably lithium quartz, penetrating the upper surface of the concrete mixture with minerals and silicates within the concrete mix. The resultant exposed particulate concrete has extreme flatness and high wear resistance suitable for high-traffic flooring applications, aesthetics resembling terrazzo or ceramic tile at a fraction of the price, and the strength and resistance to corrosion expected of concrete surfaces.
This patent tells of a surface seeded exposed particulate concrete called Glass Chip Lithocrete but does not depict the unique features of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process where design patterns are inlayed in concrete slabs.
None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process. The present design achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art processes through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements by employing readily available materials.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the Concrete Decorative Inlay Process in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement, of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Concrete Decorative Inlay Process is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.